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Q: Who Are We?
A: The U-M Depression Center Community Volunteers

In the spring of 2006, a group of individuals from Ann Arbor and surrounding communities came together to form a committee to support the efforts of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center. We share a common passion – to help raise awareness and to educate others about depression and bipolar disorders within our communities, and in doing so, to reduce the stigma that accompanies these illnesses.

Since 2006, our committee has helped raise over $200,000 from members of the community by hosting a variety of fund raising events. Through a Mini-Grant program, these funds have supported Depression Center programs that are meaningful to our committee members and beneficial to the community at large, including:

Free Social Worker-led support groups offered to families and patients who are facing depressive illnesses.

Partnerships between the Depression Center and area schools that aim to educate school personnel, families and students about depression and suicide risks in an effort to identify these illnesses earlier and therefore achieve more successful outcomes.

Phsyical improvements to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Unit at Mott Children’s Hospital and the Adult Psychiatric Inpatient Unit at University Hospital.

Because education is an important focus for our group, we also schedule different faculty speakers from the Depression Center and the greater University to present at each of our monthly meetings. Over time, we have welcomed speakers who are experts in a wide variety of areas such as: suicide risk and prevention strategies; nutrition, exercise and moods; sleep, perinatal psychiatry and the impact of maternal/family psychiatric illness on early child development, to name a few.

The Community Volunteer Committee meets monthly and welcomes new members. If you are interested in more information, please email: DCVolunteers@umich.edu. Thank you for your interest!

The Community Volunteer Committee of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center supports the mission of the Depression Center by:

educating ourselves and the community about depression and bipolar disorders

working to dispel the stigma associated with depressive disorders

supporting Depression Center projects that help patients and families who are challenged with these illnesses